Manufacturing of continuous form sets, also called "chain-sets" or "snap-band sets" is usually carried out in four separate operation stages, namely:
1. PRINTING AND PROCESSING OF INDIVIDUAL FORM SHEETS;
2. COMPILING AND GLUING THE INDIVIDUAL FORM SHEETS TO OBTAIN INDIVIDUAL FORM SETS;
3. PROCESSING A CONTINUOUS BOTTOM FORM SHEET, INVOLVING USUALLY PRINTING AND PERFORATING THE BOTTOM SHEET TO PROVIDE INDEXING/ADVANCING HOLES AND FOLD/TEAR LINES; AND
4. ASSEMBLING AND GLUING UP THE PREPARED INDIVIDUAL FORM SETS ALONG THE CONTINUOUS BOTTOM FORM SHEETS IN A LONGITUDINALLY SPACED MANNER.
Each operation stage utilizes one special machine and one or more operators. The plurality of machines consumes much space, as does the need for storage of intermediate products. The efficiency of the above recited process usually will be less than one fourth of the average efficiency of one of the machines used in such a process, since a great deal of time is consumed in loading and unloading the intermediate products between the machines.